Frontier Developments shares rise on strength of new Jurassic World game

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Frontier Developments rose sharply on Thursday after the Cambridge-based video game developer reported stronger-than-expected early sales for Jurassic World Evolution 3, and confirmed that a sequel to Planet Zoo was in development. The AIM-traded company said Jurassic World Evolution 3, released on 21 October, had sold more than 500,000 units in just over two weeks, generating higher revenue than its predecessor achieved over the same period following its 2021 launch.

It described player engagement and critical reception as "excellent", and said additional content and updates were already in development as part of its long-term post-launch strategy.

"The strong launch of Jurassic World Evolution 3 bodes well for Frontier's current financial year, ahead of the important festive sales period," the company said.

Frontier also announced that its next creative management simulation (CMS) game, scheduled for release in the 2027 financial year, would be a sequel to Planet Zoo, its best-selling title to date.

Since its release in 2019, Planet Zoo had sold more than 5.5 million units worldwide and generated over £145m in revenue.

"We're thrilled with the player reception to Jurassic World Evolution 3, which has translated into an excellent sales performance," said chief executive Jonny Watts.

"We look forward to sharing a full update on sales across our whole portfolio, including Jurassic World Evolution 3, in January following the festive period.

"At the same time, we're delighted to be developing a sequel to Planet Zoo, a game that has been elevated by the incredible creativity and dedication of our community over the past six years."

Frontier said further details on the Planet Zoo sequel would be released in due course.

At 1345 GMT, shares in Frontier Developments were up 12.78% at 579.7p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.